


Rainbow Mist

by vindobonensis



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angsty Trafalgar D. Water Law, Donquixote "Corazon" Rosinante Lives, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2019-08-06 21:13:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16395203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vindobonensis/pseuds/vindobonensis
Summary: On the way to Zou, the Barto-Club and the members of the Strawhats they have on board come across an odd Grand Line phenomenon - a Rainbow Mist. But when Luffy ventures into it, chasing adventure, he returns with something - or rather someone - entirely unexpected.Set after Dressrosa. Not canon-compliant after that. Eventual Law x Luffy.





	1. Chapter 1

The night was calm aboard the Going Luffy-senpai, Law noted with relief, as he stepped out onto the deck. He had fled the noisy company of Luffy and the Barto-Club right after dinner, withdrawing to the infirmary to at least try and catch up on some sleep. For hours he had lain in the dark on the bed, listening as the shenanigans of the Strawhat Captain and his fan club quieted gradually until silence lay over the ship. Sleep, as always, had not come easily to him - and when he had finally felt himself drift off into unconsciousness, he had been greeted with the blood-smeared faces that had haunted his nightmares for well over a decade.

 

Pulling the door to the infirmary shut behind him, Law walked over to the railing and stared down onto the inky waves of the nocturnal sea. After the nightmares he could never stand to stay in bed - it always felt as if the sheets were trying to strangle him, wrapping around his limbs, his torso, his neck, like Doflamingo’s cursed strings. The going was smooth and quite honestly, hefelt relieved at that - after the disaster with the hail and the chewing gum, he didn’t trust these idiots to steer the ship through so much as a light drizzle. Even now he could see the guard snoozing in the crow’s nest. It would take a miracle to get them to Zou safely.

 

Law sighed heavily.

 

_The Strawhats have left nothing but miracles in their wake._

 

His words to Doflamingo had held true, he reflected, and felt his thoughts drift back to Dressrosa. They had won, albeit narrowly. As always, Luffy had saved the day, beating Doflamingo to within an inch of his life in his ridiculous gigantic bouncing Gear 4th form. While Law had lain helplessly, waiting to see if he and his ally would live or die at the Shichibukai’s hand, together with all of the inhabitants of Dressrosa who were trapped in the birdcage. Although, unlike the others, Law was sure that Doflamingo would have given Luffy and himself … special attention. He almost had, when Law had been chained to the Heart Seat and -

 

Cursing loudly, Law shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. He did _not_ need to think about _that._ If he dwelt on all the gruelling thoughts of _what might have been_ , he was sure that he would lose it. Every time he imagined those parasitic strings wrapping around his limbs, his neck, cutting off his blood flow, manipulating his muscles, grazing his skin - he could see thin trickles of blood run down his wrists, his fingers, his neck, could almost feel the pain sear through his body. He could so easily have ended up a powerless puppet, forced to do every one of Doflamingo’s biddings.And knowing the man’s sick urges and sadistic nature, he could see himself even now, forced to surrender himself to his every whim, stripped bare, bleeding, forced to endure the pain quietly, inflict it on himself, while Doflamingo stands by, laughing, pleasuring himself -

 

A cold panic spread through Law, clutching at his insides, twisting his stomach - and he barely had time to bend over the railing before sickness overwhelmed him, tremors wrecking through his body.

 

Still hanging over the railing, Law watched his dinner disappear into the depths of the sea and tried desperately to calm the trembling in his limbs.

 

_Fuck._

 

It was no surprise that the disaster on Dressrosa had left his mind even more shattered than it had been before, but he had not expected to be fucked up enough to be overwhelmed by panic attacks. The feeling wasn’t unfamiliar - he’d had them after Flevance, for a while, until his pain and grief had turned to hatred. And again after Minion Island, until he had decided to dedicate his life to accomplishing Cora-san’s goal of taking down his brother. But now - now there was nothing to work towards. His life had been centred on defeating Doflamingo for so long that now, after it had finally been achieved, he was adrift in the same sea of panic, depression and despair as all those years ago.

 

Beneath him, the dark waves lapped quietly against the side of the ship. Calm. Powerful. Absolute.

 

 _Inviting_.

 

There was nothing tethering him any more. His family was still dead. Cora-san was still dead.

 

Law leaned forward several more inches and watched as the dark surface of the sea tilted towards him. His shaking limbs stilled andhis breathing evened out.

 

_Just a little further._

 

Law’s eyes widened and his heart gave a deafening thump when he felt the floor slip underneath his shoes. With a loud curse, he jerked back from the railing, stumbling backwards several steps and leaning against the wall of the cabin. The trembling returned with a vengeance and he let himself slide to the floor against the cold wood.

 

 _What the fuck am I doing?!_ The thought echoed around his mind and he held his head in his hands as he tried to focus. _This is not what they would have wanted. Not what Cora-san would have wanted._

 

Even after all this time, Law’s heart clenched painfully when he thought of the goofy blond man who had given his life for him. No, never in a million years would Cora-san have wanted him to do this to himself. But to be fair, he probably also wouldn’t have wanted Law to go on a crusade against his older brother. Knowing Cora-san, Law supposed that, as he lay dying in the snow, pierced by the bullets from his brother’s gun, he had imagined Law running as far from Doflamingo as possible, maybe find a kind family to take him in, go to school, to university, become a doctor, meet a nice girl, marry, have children, be happy.

 

Law snorted in derision and looked out across the sea.

 

Happiness was a foreign concept to him. It had been since -

 

_What the hell is that?_

 

Jumping up, Law stared intently into the distance, instantly alert. There - something was there! In the dark night, lit only by a few stars peeking out behind the clouds, _something_ was materializing. It looked like a white mass, like a cloud or a dense fog, hovering over the surface of the sea. How far away, Law couldn’t tell - but it seemed that whatever it was, it was getting closer.

 

All thoughts of introspection forgotten, Law raced across the ship, raising the alarm - knocking on doors, waking the dozing guards, rousing the weird captain, the crew - anyone who was not too drunk to lie passed-out on the deck.

 

Despite his best efforts, it took several minutes to wake the crew and by the time they were all standing along the starboard railing, the white mass had come closer still and was now only a mile or so away.

 

Law was looking at the captain expectantly, but Bartolomeo just looked at the approaching _thing_ curiously.

 

"No idea." He eventually said, scratching his chin,

 

Growling with frustrated rage, Law drew a hand across his face and settled for glaring at the idiot captain, rather than cut him into little pieces. Antagonizing their allies would not do just now, even if they were fucking morons.

 

"I suppose we could always snailphone-call -" One of the Barto-Club started and despite his best intentions, Law felt his control on his temper slipping.

 

"It’s a rainbow mist."

 

All heads flew around to look at Luffy, who was leaning against the railing behind Law, looking out across the water with bleary, sleep-filled eyes.

 

"It’s a _what_?" Law asked critically, not sure whether Luffy actually knew what he was talking about or was just randomly spouting nonsense.

 

Feeling his fellow-captain’s testiness, Luffy seemed to rouse himself a little more. "It’s a rainbow mist." He repeated.. "I’ve seen it before. It’s kind of like a normal fog, but it messes with time. And with space too. It’s much bigger on the inside and it’s like there’s a different place with lots of ships that all sailed in there and couldn’t find back out."

 

At Luffy’s jumbled explanation, Law’s eyes widened and a distant memory of a book he’d read once came back to him. Of disruptions in the time-space continuum on the Grand Line that manifested themselves as paradoxical mists and bore unknown dangers but supposedly also unheard-of treasure. No concrete information was known, because everyone who tried to find out more vanished irrevocably.

 

After a brief moment of shock, he turned towards Bartolomeo and suppressed the urge to dismember the green-haired man, who was currently squirming in admiration of Luffy’s extensive knowledge of the unusual phenomena on the Grand Line. "We have to get going!" he barked instead, irritation spiking. "I have no intention of getting sucked into that thing, so you’d better -"

 

"I wanna go in!"

 

For the second time that evening, everyone turned towards Luffy.

 

The Strawhat Captain was seemingly fully awake by now. He was standing at the railing, arms crossed in front of his chest, a manic grin on his face and adeterminedglint in his eyes.

 

Law felt his stomach drop.

 

"What did you just say?"

 

Luffy’s grin grew so wide it was anatomically impossible. "I wanna go in there! I’ve been in one of them before and it was fun! I wanna see if this one looks the same from the inside."

 

"Straw-Hat-ya, this is dangerous!" Law hissed, ignoring the Barto-Club’s tearful joy at witnessing some more of their idol’s daring courage first-hand. "You have no idea how this works, what awaits you in there. It’s insane! We have to get to Zou -"

 

"Shishishi! Torao worries too much! It’s an adventure. Adventures are fun!"

 

Luffy only continued to grin at him, the Barto-Club cheered in the background and Law knew all of his protests were doomed.

 

—

 

Twenty minutes later, a little boat affixed to a long iron cord had been arranged and Luffy was sitting at the rudders, accompanied, to Law’s shock, by Robin. The archeologist had come on deck a little late, not having been notified immediately, since she had been sitting in a small study room below deck, leafing through the Barto-Clubs (rather meagre) collection of books. She had emerged from the cabin, taken one look at the rainbow mist and announced that she wanted to join her captain.

 

As he watched Luffy grab hold of the rudders and row towards the mist at mind-numbing speed, Law reflected that he should not have been surprised. After all - if this was a temporal paradox, who knew what archeological treasures were lurking in the white depths of the phenomenon. At least his allied captain now had someone sensible by his side when he would inevitably get into trouble. Law just hoped that it wouldn’t be anything _too_ bothersome.

 

—

 

"You might want to go a little more slowly, captain. We can hardly see where we are going!"Robin suggested gently and Luffy eased his furious rowing. The mist had enveloped them by now and she could see only a few yards ahead. Looking at the coil holding the iron cord that connected them to the ship, she noted with relief that hardly a third of it had been used so far. The Barto-Club’s shipwright had assured them that, at their signal, he would activate the automatic pull-back mechanism and have them reeled back to the ship.

 

"Robin - I think there’s an island there!"

 

Looking up from the cord connecting them to the outer world, Robin peered into the thick mist and had to admit that Luffy was right. Not far ahead, the outline of what looked like a hill could be seen through the swirls of white. Excitement bubbled in her chest - this was why she loved being a Strawhat pirate. "You’re right, captain. Shall we take a closer look?"

 

Luffy’s bright grin was answer enough.

 

—

Ten minutes later, they tied their little boat to the trunk of an old oak tree and stepped onto the snow-covered shore. It seemed like they had arrived at a winter island. Already when they had neared it through the fog, the temperature had dropped sharply and Robin had wished she’d thought of bringing a warmer jacket. The Strawhat captain, however, showed no sign of being cold - burning as he was with a desire for adventure.

 

So it was an even bigger surprise when Robin looked up from tying the rope to find Luffy staring out onto the sea pensively.

 

"What is it, captain?"

 

Luffy scratched the back of his head, an almost comical look of puzzlement on his features. "Dunno. Just different from last time, I guess. Last time the fog was everywhere - now it’s just over there. And this time there’s an island. There wasn’t one before."

 

Following the young captain’s gaze, Robin looked at the rainbow mist, sprawling as it did for several hundred yards along the coast of the island. But Luffy was right - rather than enveloping the whole island, it stopped just before the beach. The island itself lay under a clear black, moonless sky.

 

"I suppose every rainbow mist is different." She concluded eventually.

 

His temporary thinking fit over, Luffy just nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah Robin - you’re right. Let’s explore this place!"

 

—

 

It took them no time at all to climb the little slope that separated the beach from the main plain of the island. When they reached the top, however, they stopped in their tracks. Frozen in place, they stared at the scene in front of them.

 

The island was small, even by Grand Line standards. There was only one main hill and a few houses, but what was stunning, was that many of those were _on fire_. Gunshots and cries of pain and distress could be heard in the distance and the air was heavy with smoke and the smell of blood. A battle was no doubt being fought somewhere close.

 

Luffy’s childish enthusiasm had evaporated and he was looking at the island with a serious expression on his face.

 

"We have to be careful." Robin insisted quietly. She knew her captain well and was aware that he would not be turning back yet - even if that would have been the sensible option. But the situation in which they found themselves was far more perilous than she had estimated.

 

—

 

Much to Robin’s relief, they did actually proceed carefully. Hardly saying a word, they walked towards the center of the island, wary of being observed. Not that they encountered anyone alive who could have observed them. Soon they came across bodies strewn across the ground, their blood dying the snow crimson. Eyes stared sightlessly up at them and Robin clenched her fists, trying to fathom why these men had died here, why they had fought. They all wore civilian clothes, but going by the tattoos some of them sported, she would have guessed that they were pirates. Two rival crews contending over treasure maybe?

 

Tearing her eyes away from the lifeless eyes of yet another victim of the battle, the archeologist looked at the advancing back of her captain. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the seriousness he radiated. All this carnage probably reminded him of Dressrosa, just like it did her.

 

—

 

They had walked another few hundred yards and were standing in front of the ruins of a big mansion when cannon fire suddenly tore through the night. Going by the volume of the explosions and the way in which the ground shook ever so slightly, even as a red light shone over the tree tops ahead of them, the heart of the battle was close.

 

"We should go back!" Robin urged, looking at Luffy intently.

 

The Strawhat captain was standing a few paces ahead of her, staring grimly into the direction of the fight.

 

"We’re still inside the rainbow mist!" The archaeologist pressed. "This is not our fight. And we promised the others we’d be back. You promised Trafalgar."

 

Luffy continued to stare for a moment, but at the mention of his ally’s name, he sighed an nodded reluctantly. Robin knew that it went completely against her companion’s instinct to turn his back to a battle, but she was still glad he could see her point, turning and walking back towards her -

 

\- only to trip over something.

 

Windmilling for a moment, Luffy managed to catch himself and turned around to see what had made him stumble.

 

"Robin!" he cried immediately and his crewmate hurried forward.

 

Eyes widening, Robin looked down at a tall figure lying on the ground, half-covered by the fresh snow.

 

Messy blond hair, vibrant makeup, a dark red hood and a coat of black feathers framing his body. And a shirt soaked with blood from innumerable bullet-wounds.

 

Luffy was staring at the man with grim determination and understanding and Robin almost flinched at the expression on her captain’s face. Fury and grief and compassion were warring on the young man’s features.

 

"We’re taking him." Luffy ground out eventually, bending down to wrap his arms around the corpse.

 

Robin started. "Do you know him? Who is this?" She asked, puzzled.

 

"Mingo’s brother." Luffy hissed from behind clenched teeth.

 

But before Robin had time to get over her shock and ask _how_ Luffy knew that and , if it was true, _why_ he would want to take the corpse of his defeated enemy’s brother, something else happened.

 

The corpse groaned.

 

It was low and barely audible, but when Luffy lifted his battered body off the icy ground, the man gave a moan of pain and a small mist of breath danced in front of his mouth.

 

Luffy and Robin were both immobile for a moment.

 

"Let’s go!" Luffy shouted, carefully lifting the injured man’s body and racing back towards their boat.

 

——

 

Law was leaning against the railing, staring at the rainbow mist in front of them. It still seemed as thick and impenetrable as it had for the past hour - so at least there seemed to be no danger of it suddenly disappearing and taking Luffy and Robin with it. Still, he wished that the mysterious archeologist and the her annoying captain would return soon so that they could resume their journey to Zou. 

 

After his earlier panic attack, he found himself longing for his own crew, his submarine, for Bepo’s warm fur and the familiarity of his cabin. He wanted to get off this mad ship, he wanted some peace and quiet to deal with whatever fucking shit was going on in his head, he wanted to rest against his navigator after having taken a more than generous dose of sleeping meds and antidepressives, washed down with a glass of bourbon - and fuck the side effects. If he overdosed accidentally, Shachi and Penguin could always pump his stomach.

 

His thoughts were interrupted when there was a shout from the shipwright, who had been sitting beside the coil that held the end of the iron cord affixed to Luffy’s and Robin’s boat. Law strode across the deck and saw that someone was tugging at the iron cord - the agreed-upon signal. With a shout of relief, the shipwright pushed a lever and immediately the coil began to wind back the iron rope, effectively reeling in the little boat - and hopefully both members of the Strawhat crew.

 

"Oh no! Captain! Captain!" a panicked cry came from the railing.

 

Bartolomeo stormed across the deck and Law looked around. His heart fell.

 

As if the rainbow mist, like a sentient beast, knew that they were trying to take something from it, it suddenly reared into life. The milky swirls of mist began to slither through the night - and to disperse. Before their eyes, the mighty white mass diminished, edges bleeding into nothingness, vanishing like whips of smoke.

 

"Faster!" Bartolomeo bellowed at his shipwright. "Go faster!!!"

 

The poor man pushed his lever for all it was worth, increasing the speed of the coil marginally.

 

All eyes were focussed on the quickly shrinking rainbow mist and the thin line of the iron rope - the only connection between the ship and the Strawhat expedition. Tense seconds passed before a joyful shout rang down from the lookout.

 

"I see them!" the man in the crow’s nest, holding a pair of binoculars, announced happily.

 

Law strained his eyes and a few heartbeats later, he, too, could make out the outline of a boat and blurry figures in the mist. It was rapidly nearing the ship, but was it fast enough?

 

The silence on deck was absolute for several seconds - only the iron grating of the fast-spinning coil could be heard in the darkness.

 

Then, the little boat shot out of the mist, into the clear night air and cheers broke out across the deck. Law let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and ignored the happily crying Bartolomeo beside him. Relief spread through his chest and a small smile threatened to appear on his face - it was good to know that Luffy was safe. It would have been inconceivable to lose him now, after everything they had been through together. But -

 

Law looked away from the boat still shooting towards the ship and back to the rainbow mist, which was even now vanishing into thin air. In a few moments, nothing would remain of it.

 

\- it had been another extremely close call.

 

Trying to force down the coldness that clutched at his heart at the thought of losing Luffy to this weird tempo-spatial paradox, Law closed his eyes and breathed deeply. _They’re back. Everything is alright. He’s here. He’s alive and he’s here. He’s alive and he’s here. He’s alive and he’s here._ Over and over he repeated the words in his mind, like a mantra, until finally, the rising panic started to recede.

 

Then, he realized when he had just been thinking and his eyes flew open in shock.

 

Being relieved that his allied pirate captain hadn’t just died was one thing. Coming apart at the seams and almost going into a full-blown panic attack at the mere thought that said captain _could have_ been lost was something entirely different.

 

Staring straight ahead at the last dissipating wisps of rainbow mist, Law’s emotions were still raw enough that he recognised the feeling.

 

"Oh fuck!" he breathed.

 

Without realising it until now, he had -

 

"Who is _that?!"_

 

 _"_ Torao!!!"

 

"Trafalgar - we need a doctor!"

 

Several urgent shouts from across the deck tore Law from his thoughts and for a moment, he looked around, disoriented.

 

While he had been occupied with his inner struggles, the small boat bearing Luffy and Robin had seemingly reached the ship, for there the two Strawhats were, standing on deck and looking at him intently. But something was off - a gaggle of Barto-Club members were standing around someone lying on the hard wooden planks of the ship. Was someone hurt? Or had one of the fanboys finally passed out from excitement?

 

But then Luffy’s serious expression and Robin’s words registered. _We need a doctor._

 

Personal issues once more forgotten, Law shot to his feet and crossed the deck in a few long, swift strides, already mentally preparing to use his powers. No matter what shit he was going through, how fucked up his mind was, he was still a doctor and he was still capable of helping people -

 

"Step aside!" He ordered briskly in his cold professional manner and Bartolomeo’s crew jumped out of his way instantly, revealing the patient.

 

In a split second, time froze, the rotation of the earth slowing to a crawl as the universe converged on Law and the man before him. The man he thought he would never see again.

 

Black feathers framed the tall man’s figure and snow clung to his clothes. Against the pallor of his face, dark red and vibrant blue makeup stood out starkly, smeared by the water of the melting snow.

 

If Law had been a lesser man, he might have hesitated too long, might have remained frozen, unable to act. As it was, the _how_ and _why_ did not matter to him and only one word left his lips.

 

"Room!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments! :D I'm really thrilled by the feedback! Here's the next chapter. ;)

 

—

It was late at night when Strawhat Luffy made his way to the infirmary.

 

Dinner in the Barto-Club’s kitchen had just ended and it had been a raucous affair as usual, with lots of laughter, dirty jokes, songs that would have made Nami groan and Chopper blush - and of course lots of food. Luffy sighed and thought of dinner on the Sunny - he missed Sanji’s cooking! The Barto-Club’s cook was good and always strove to outdo himself now that Luffy himself was on board, but he was just no match for Sanji’s ingenious rafinesse when it came to creating ever-new dishes for the Strawhats.

 

Heaving another heavy sigh, Luffy brought his thoughts back to his present objective - checking on Torao. The captain of the Heart Pirates hadn’t been at dinner. Again. In fact, Luffy had hardly seen his allied captain since he had briefly emerged from the infirmary days ago to announce that his seventeen-hour marathon surgery had been successful and that the man Luffy and Robin had pulled from the rainbow mist would probably live. Ever since, Law had hardly left his bedside, waiting until he would awaken. Meals had been sent to the infirmary periodically and brought back to the kitchen barely touched, together with reports that Law looked closer to death than his patient, pale from a lack of sleep and an excess of worry.

 

Much as it went against his instincts, Luffy had understood that Torao needed space - time alone with the person who meant so much to him. But days had passed and from the sound of it, Torao needed someone to check on him. And they were nakama after all.

 

Luffy reached the infirmary and frowned. The door stood ajar, a beam of light falling into the darkness of the corridor. Carefully stepping closer, the Strawhat captain saw that Law - surprisingly - wasn’t with his patient.

 

The blonde man was alone, lying stretched out on an infirmary bed which had been hastily modified by the Barto-Club’s resident craftsman to fit his too-tall frame. His messy hair was matted and held back by a hairband to keep it away from the bandage on his cheek where a bullet had grazed him. In the dim light of the infirmary, his skin looked shallow and pale - no wonder after all the damage he had suffered.

 

But where was Torao?

 

Turning his attention away from the unconscious man in the infirmary, Luffy turned to look for his friend.

 

He did not have to go far.

 

Taking a few steps down the corridor, Luffy’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw the Surgeon of Death sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, hidden by the half-open infirmary door. His knees were drawn up to his chest and his head was resting firmly in his hands.

 

Luffy frowned, picking up on on a current of despair with his observation haki. Quietly, he moved over to Law and squatted down beside him.

 

When the older man did not move or speak, the Strawhat pirate decided to take the first step.

 

"So he still hasn’t woken up, huh," Luffy observed evenly.

 

Law still did not move and his reply was muffled by the hands covering his face. "He’s about to, I think. Vitals are up. Murmured something before."

 

Luffy’s face scrunched up in confusion at the surgeon’s words. Then what was the problem? For days Torao had seemingly been terrified that his patient was not going to survive after all, hovering as he had been on the edge between life and death. And now that it looked as if everything was going to be alright, he was sitting out here.

 

"Then what -" the younger pirate began to ask, but Law cut him off sharply.

 

"He doesn’t know me!" the captain of the Heart Pirates snapped, looking up at last. He glared at Luffy through eyes filled with misery."The last time he saw me, I was 13. I’ve changed. Become someone different.And not in the way he wanted - I don’t think he’d like - he wouldn’t -" Breaking off again, Law dragged his hands across his face once more and fell silent.

 

Luffy stared at the man beside him, understanding slowly dawning on him. It was rejection he feared.

 

Law looked terrible. He hadn’t eaten properly for a week - nor had he slept much. His skin was paler than usual and the dark ink of his countless tattoos stood out starkly, as did the many bruises he’d sustained on Dressrosa. And that was only the visible damage that had been done to his body. Luffy had always felt that Law’s sharp tongue and harsh exterior concealed some sort of pain - and after overhearing Law’s conversation with Doflamingo on Dressrosa, he was sure of that.Luffy had actually been very much reminded of Ace when he’d first met him as a kid.

 

But if this man that Law obviously cared for so much also cared for him in return -

 

"He won’t mind," Luffy asserted firmly.

 

A mirthless laugh echoed from behind Law’s hands. "I think he might - what with him being a Marine and all. And having given his life so that I wouldn’t have to become a pirate," he snapped sardonically, lowering his hands and glaring at Luffy.

 

In return, Luffy stared. "Wha - Mingo’s brother was a Marine?"

 

Law sighed and looked away. "He was a spie. After Doflamingo killed their father, he was raised by Sengoku. Later he infiltrated the Donquixote family. It’s how we met."

 

Not saying anything, Luffy only gave a curt nod. It was obvious that telling him this was bringing up painful memories for Law. He knew how his ally felt - he himself had never talked to his crew about the war at Marineford and Ace’s death. However, Luffy’s silence seemed to encourage Law in his explanation.

 

"I was young and stupid - and dying. And to save me, he dragged me across the North Blue from hospital to hospital and eventually stole the Ope Ope Fruit from Doflamingo when it became apparent that it was my only hope. His brother killed him for that."

 

Luffy’s heartbeat echoed in his ears and his muscles tensed instinctively. _Dying_? Torao had almost died back then? For a second, the scene in front of the Colosseum in Dressrosa flashed across his mind. At the sight of Doflamingo’s bullet piercing Torao’s chest a despair more powerful than any he had known since his brother’s death had torn at his soul.

 

"Why were you dying?" he asked, voice tight.

 

Silence echoed through the corridor and as the moments passed, the darkness seemed to press in more and more oppressively on them. Luffy hardly breathed, afraid that he had pushed Law’s boundaries too far.

 

"I was born in Flevance," Law muttered eventually.

 

The hand that had concealed his face fell limply to his side as if in defeat and he let his head fall back against the wooden wall of the corridor with a soft thump.Heavily, he glanced over at Luffy, searching for any kind of recognition in his face.

 

But the captain of the Strawhats was looking back in puzzlement at the sudden shift in demeanour.

 

Sighing heavily, Law continued ina shaky voice. "It was a city in the North Blue. Wealthy because of a rare metal found in the area. The world government encouraged its mining, even though they were fully aware that it was highly poisonous. When the people started dying in masses from decades of accumulated poisoning, the government did not want their perfidy to become public. Instead they invented a contagious disease. Under the guise of epidemic containment, they burnt the city to the ground. I escaped, but the poison was still killing me."

 

Luffy’s lips were pressed into a thin line, rage simmering under his skin as memories of a burning trash yard in Goa pushed to the forefront of his mind unbidden. _Him and Ace and Dadan trapped. Smoke tearing at his lungs, the heat clawing at his skin. Desperate cries for help from the dying poor who were enclosed by fire in their huts._ It seemed that the government did not mind burning people who were inconvenient to them anywhere they pleased.

 

"And the fruit cured you?" Luffy asked eventually in a low voice.

 

Grimacing, Law hesitated in his answer. "It gave me the ability to cure myself," he responded eventually. By the tightness of his friend’s voice, Luffy judged that it couldn’t have been a pleasant experience. For a moment he imagined Torao having to cut into his own body to scrape out poison from his flesh - but quickly stopped before he went too far down that train of thought. Otherwise he might just have to strike down the world government out of rage at what they had put his friend through.

 

Instead, the Strawhat captain gave a relieved sigh and then flashed his trademark grin at his friend. "I’m glad you’re OK now!" he exclaimed, slinging an arm around the other man and pulling him to his side.

 

And he truly was!

 

Ever since their first encounter on Sabaody, Luffy had been fond of the Surgeon of Death - fighting those Marines together in front of the auction house had been awesome! And then he had saved him at Marineford! The joy that had soared through Luffy when he had unexpectedly met the captain of the Heart Pirates again on Punk Hazard, had warmed him enough to make him forget the blizzard that had been raging around them at the time. When the other pirate had suggested the alliance, Luffy had jumped at the opportunity with glee. And after everything that they had gone through since, he couldn’t imagine just letting Torao go like any other of the people the Straw Hats had met and fought with during their adventure so far. Impossible to imagine what his life would be like if Torao had died!

 

Law, however, had tensed up completely beside him and when Luffy glanced over at him, he found his friend staring at him with an uncharacteristic mixture of dawning comprehension and shock.

 

A second later, the moment was broken by a quiet moan of pain echoing into the corridor from the open infirmary door.

 

Law started, eyes wide, and half-rose from the floor before freezing in place. For several heartbeats, the Surgeon of Death stood still as a statue. Then he screwed his eyes shut, dragged his hands across his face and sank back to the floor with a groan. Every muscle in his body was clenched tightly and it was obvious that he was fighting a furious inner battle.

 

Looking at his friend, Luffy pressed his lips into a thin line and lowered his head so that the brim of his hat obscured his eyes. He understood. Torao wasn’t ready to face the man in the infirmary.

 

Without another word, Luffy rose and made his way past Law into the room behind them - but not without taking off his straw hat and placing it on his friend’s head in passing.

 

—

 

A quiet groan ripped Luffy from his thoughts and his eyes snapped to the unconscious man beside him. Or rather - the formerly unconscious man. For slowly, slowly, the patient’s eyes were fluttering open.

 

The Strawhat captain watched quietly as the man’s pupils slowly focussed, adjusting to the light after such a long time, and he became aware of his surroundings.

 

After a few moments, Luffy decided to make his presence known.

 

Smiling widely, he leant forwards, into the man’s field of vision. "Hello there!"

 

Obviously still under the influence of the sedatives and pain killers Law had administered, it took the blond man a moment to process the sudden appearance of a foreign face, but soon his eyes widened and his mouth opened, lips moving soundlessly for a few seconds.

 

"Where - Where’s Law?" he managed to croak out eventually.

 

Luffy pressed his lips together when he heard a faint sob from the corridor.

 

"He’s fine. Law’s fine," the young pirate answered quickly. "He’s on this ship!."

 

An exhausted smile spread across the man’s face at the news and he sighed in relief.

 

"What ship?" He asked after a moment, seemingly registering Luffy’s last sentence. "Not Marine." He added, looking at Luffy askance.

 

"No - don’t worry!" the captain of the Strawhats laughed warmly. "We’re pirates !" The man’s eyes widened dramatically and Luffy suddenly remembered that Torao had told him this man had been a Marine spy. "But friendly ones!" he added hastily.

 

The man in the hospital bed looked unconvinced and was about to say something, but when he opened his lips once more, his voice broke and his words were drowned in a fit of coughing.

 

"Do you wnna drink something?"Luffy asked with concern.

 

When he received a quick nod as a response, he reached behind the huge man’s back and helped him sit up in bed. Reaching for a glass of water on the nightstand, he brought it up to the sick man’s lips and made sure his trembling hands did not spill its contents.

 

Once the glass was empty, Luffy added another pillow to his backrest and let him lie back down.

 

"You helped me. On Minion Island," the blond said after a while, looking at Luffy intently. In return, the young pirate smiled and nodded, pleased that the other man’s voice was already much steadier. It seemed that his resilience might equal his own.

 

"What happened? Why did you help me? How long was I unconscious? Where’s Doffy - I mean, Doflamingo?"

 

Luffy sighed, scratched the back of his head and looked at the man on the bed with uncharacteristic seriousness. He had hoped that Torao would be the one to do this, but it seemed that the man’s energy had returned and he was demanding answers.

 

"Everything is OK. You’re safe. We kicked Mingo’s ass on Dressrosa. The Marines have got him and are taking him to Impel Down."

 

Luffy’s words were met with a stunned silence and he watched as a range of emotions flashed across the other man’s face. Eventually, relief triumphed and he slumped back agains his pillows.

 

"But there’s still a lot that you don’t know," Luffy added seriously.

 

Now the man’s expression furrowed again and he looked at the Strawhat captain questioningly.

 

"You’ve been out of it for a week. But it’s been much longer since you were hurt."

 

Luffywatched silently as the patient’s eyes widened once more and he gaped at him, trying to comprehend what he’d just said.

 

"But - But - How -?" he eventually stammered.

 

"There was a rainbow mist. That’s like a kind of fog that’s much bigger on the inside. And if you go in, time passes much slower than on the outside. Only this time it wasn’t full of ships that had gotten stuck, but there was an island. Robin says it was a kind of time bridge to the pastAnd we went through it to explore and found you. I’d heard Torao - I mean Law - talk about you and when we saw you I just knew it must be you.So we brought you back. And Law operated on you.He saved you."

 

Wide-eyed, the other man stared at Luffy for a long time, slightly shaking his head in incredulousness, trying to make sense of the somewhat jumbled explanation.The captain of the Strawhat pirates held his gaze, utterly serious.

 

Thankfully, the former Marine seemed to have sailed the seas long enough that his mind was used to the impossibilities of Grand Line phenomena bending natural laws. Beneath the sheer fear and confusion in his eyes, Luffy could see that he believed him.

 

The silence stretched for several minutes, to the point of being painful. But in the end, the other man’s mind seemingly hitched on the one thing Luffy had expected it would -

 

"So Law - Law’s -" he asked hesitantly.

 

"Grown up. " Luffy supplied with a grin. "He’s a _man_ now - and an amazing one! You should have seen him kick Cesar’s ass! It was -"

 

The young pirate’s tirade, however, was interrupted. Unexpectedly, the injured man’s face crumpled and tears welled up in his eyes. Luffy leant back a bit, surprised at the impact his words had had.

 

In an imitation of Law’s posture in the corridor, the man on the bed drew his knees up to his chest and threw his head into his hands, murmuring to himself. "Fuck! Fuck! I promised - I promised I’d protect him. I promised - That I’d be there. That I’d - He must hate me."

 

"He doesn’t hate you!" Luffy interjected forcefully, at a loss for what else to do with another grown man curling in on himself in self-recrimination. He half-rose, gesturing helplessly.

 

As soon as he moved, however, the injured man spun around and grabbed his forearm -faster than normally possible from someone who’d spent the last week in a coma after being shot a dozen times. 

 

"Please!" He begged, holding onto Luffy’s arm tightly enough to bruise, tears in his eyes "Please - I have to see him, I have to - I want to say sorry - I -"

 

Luffy could only stare back, unsure what to do with the distraught man in front of him.

 

"Cora-san."

 

Both Luffy’s head and the patient’s snapped around when a low voice spoke in the doorway.

 

Law was standing before them, pale and shaking, worrying the brim of Luff’s straw hat with one of his hands.For a moment, Luffy was struck by the contrast of his appearance now to the first time he’d seen him on Sabaody - reclining cooly in his seat in an auction house surrounded by Marines with an Admiral on the way after he had watched a Celestial Dragon being struck to the ground.

 

The blond man’s fingers fell limply from Luffy’s wrist and he stared at Law, tears streaming from his eyes.

 

Gritting his teeth against his emotions, Law shifted uncomfortably and hung his head.

 

"Cora-san, I -" he started.

 

A second later, Law’s sentence was cut off when the man he had just addressed launched himself out of bed and across the room, enfolding the dreaded Surgeon of Death in a bone-crushing embrace.

 

His momentum carried them both backwards until they slammed into the wall of the infirmary, sending several boxes of gauze tumbling from the nearest shelf. But neither truly seemed to care. The huge man’s hands were wrapped tightly around Law and he’d bent over to bury his face in the pirate captain’s hair. Law, in turn, was trembling and clinging onto the man before him as if for dear life, his face hidden in his shoulder.

 

Luffy grinned at the pair and slipped from the room unseen.

—


	3. Attacks and Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back you guys! I'm really sorry for the long wait - I was pretty seriously ill for a while and then I was trying to catch up on life and never really had time to continue the story. Thank you so much for all your comments - I love hearing your opinions! 
> 
> So here we go - the events of this chapter are based partly on the filler episodes after Dressrosa, where Luffy and Bartolomeo get captured by members of the Silver Pirate Alliance.

"Cora-san" Law breathed, his face buried in the taller man’s shoulder, fingers clawing into the fabric of the hospital gown the Barto-Club’s doctor had produced for him. It felt odd to be hugging the man without the thick coat of black feathers enveloping the two of them - the memory of being tiny and shrouded in black softness was still fresh on his mind and for a moment it felt as if no time had passed at all.

 

"Law," Cora responded shakily and the the younger man felt a huge hand come to rest at the back of his head. At any other time the idea of a grown man stroking his hair like a little kid’s would be absolutely ludicrous - and the attempt would end, without doubt, in a few lost limbs. But this, this just felt right. And safe. And Law both loved and hated how easy this casual intimacy came to the both of them.

 

He was a grown man, for fuck’s sake. A pirate - and not just any pirate, but a Shichibukai. He was the Surgeon of Death, he was dreaded across the Grand Line, and he - he was _not_ going to cry.

 

"I’m so, so sorry," Cora-san grated out, his voice trembling, hugging Law even more tightly.

 

Not trusting his own voice just then, Law just shook his head mutely against Cora’s chest. _He_ was the one who should be apologising. If it hadn’t been for him, Cora-san would never have abandoned his mission, would never have stolen the Ope Ope fruit, would never have been shot, would never have _died._ Dressrosa would never have … Misery seemed to follow Law wherever he went, and he should be the one apologising for dragging Cora-san into the mess that was his life. There was still so much that Cora-san didn’t know - about his being a pirate, a warlord, a criminal and just the thought of telling him had panic clawing at Law’s heart.

 

Suddenly, cannon fire tore through the quiet infirmary.

 

Both Corazon and Law jumped back, instantly alert as the booming sound of battle echoed through the room and the ship began to rock dangerously.

 

"Stay here!" Law shouted at Corazon and stormed out of the room and towards the deck. He was going to murder the Strawhat idiot if he’d managed to pick a fight. Now out of all times!

 

"Mugiwara-ya!" he barked in irritation as he emerged onto the deck, banging the wooden door open without further preamble. A second later he had to dive to the side to avoid a projectile.

 

His shoulder connected painfully with the deck and he rolled over, barely registering the odd sort of slurping noise that the - cannon ball? - made as it impacted on the deck where Law had stood against mere seconds before.

 

"It’s sticky!" a familiar voice cried from across the deck in a strangled sort of tone.

 

From his position on the floor, Law looked up only to see Luffy struggling against a white material that seemed to glue him to the deck. Fear thrilled through the Surgeon of Death as he realised that his ally had basically been incapacitated by the unknown substance.

 

After a moment of absolute terror, Law broke free from his trance and jumped into action, sprinting towards the railing to see where the new threat was coming from. His stomach impacted heavily on the wooden railing and knocked the wind out of him for a moment - damnit! He was still exhausted from the surgery on Cora-san and his following days of vigilance! Damn his incoordination when he was tired!

 

His eyes scanned the waves and instantly found the origin of the new threat. A few hundred yards away, several small boats - or were those jet skis? - were floating on the waves, occupied by women holding bazookas. Another loud _boom,_ followed by a _splash_ and another dose of sticky white impacted on the deck, this time gluing Bartolomeo down.

 

Who the hell were those people? And why were they firing at them?

 

As if in answer to his unspoken question, a magnified voice rang out towards them from across the waves:

 

"Surrender now! We are capturing you for the glory of the Silver Pirate Alliance - hand us Strawhat Luffy and Bartolomeo and we might consider letting the rest of you go!"

 

"Never!" cried Bartolomeo from his undignified position on the deck - the white substance had knocked him over backwards and his hands were stuck under his body - one under his bum, the other, for some reason, jammed into his left ear.

 

Luffy too seemed to be swelling with anger in the white substance in which hew as enclosed - "Just you wait until I get out of this goo. I’m gonna kick your ass, you -"

 

And then another sound echoed across the deck - clumsy footsteps ascending the stairs, followed by a loud bang as the door to the cabins was thrown open so violently that it almost flew off the hinges. Law turned around, his heart clawing up his throat, just in time to see Corazon stumbling onto the deck, holding his head as he’d seemingly bumped it against the too-low doorframe.

 

"Law -!" he started, looking out across the deck towards the terrified Surgeon of Death.

 

A second later, he was knocked to the ground, buried under a white mass.

 

Law’s vision began to flicker around the edges, static buzzing through his brain. _Cora-san was in danger. Luffy was in danger. They were being attacked by bounty hunters. And no one who could conceivably help them was left standing. No one - except him._

 

Adrenaline flooded through him and the bone-deep exhaustion that had seemed firmly lodged in his limbs gave an indignant throb before it was pushed out of his body. In its stead, flaming range burnt in the pit of his stomach, energy shooting into the tips of his fingers.

 

_ROOM_

 

His voice rang across the deck, strange and deep even to his own ears, but he did not heed it as turned back towards the railing, already aligning everything he wanted to move in his mind. He watched as the enemy gaped at the sight of his room expanding, encroaching towards their jet skis. Before they could snap out of their confusion, it had fully encapsulated them, effectively throwing them at Law’s mercy. And mercy he had none.

 

_SHAMBLES_

 

In the fraction of a heartbeat, the white mass that had pinned Corazon, Luffy and the others to the deck had vanished, and was instead raining down on the enemy crew. High shrieks of shock rang across the water as the sticky traps closed around the bodies of their makers. But that was not all. An instant later, a volley of cannon balls came raining down on them - not fired physically, no, but left to fall from a height in the stead of particular molecules of air.

 

A cacophony of explosions echoed across the water and Law watched in gloating satisfaction as their enemies burned. Never again would they threaten the men he loved.

 

"Law?" an uncertain voice called to him from across the deck. It sounded much farther away.

 

"Torao are you alright?!" questioned another familiar voice, also sounding muffled and echoing as if reflected by a mountain range.

 

Tearing his eyes away from the destruction of their foes, Law turned and saw both Cora-san and Luffy approaching him carefully, worry in their eyes.

 

_Of course I am fine. Stop looking at me like that._

 

He had not seen that expression of absolute terror on Cora-san’s face since the last time a hospital had kicked them out. And to see Luffy’s familiar features contracted in the same expression of fear and worry was just -

 

 _I am fine you idiots,_ Law wanted to admonish them, but no sound would come. Every single muscle in his body was taut and clenched in exertion and he found he could not move.

 

_No._

 

When, with herculean effort, he finally managed to wrench open his mouth to speak, no sound came forth.

 

With a start he realised that he was still holding his room. Concentrating hard, he released it, feeling the bubble of energy collapse and the innumerable atoms that he had held in his control being released from his bidding.

 

The tension in his body vanished with a flash, and he stumbled forward, coughing.

 

Two pairs of hands were on him in a second and he heard Luffy’s cry of "Torao!" ring in his ears, even though he could not see the younger captain. Once more he tried to speak, but when he parted his lips, blood trickled from his mouth and blackness encroached on his field of vision.

 

_Fuck._

 

_—_

 

 

The first thing Law became aware of as he slowly drifted into consciousness was that someone was touching him. Faint stirrings of confusion fogged through his half-awake brain.

 

_What the fuck?_

 

Law couldn’t remember what had happened to make him pass out, but everyone on the crew knew to leave him the fuck alone when he was unconscious unless they had a craving to lose several extremities - the only exception being if he was bleeding profusely after a battle and needed suturing. But since Law couldn’t currently feel a needle threading through his flesh, the first weak throbs of irritation pulsed through him.

 

There were fingers threading through his hair. And a foreign hand on his, soft pressure and warmth on his fingers.

 

_Sentimental idiots. Don’t need coddling. Going to disembowel them for a while._

 

Slowly, the disjunct melée of sounds that had been buzzing in his ears since he had started to wake came into focus. He could hear waves quietly lapping against the side of the ship, footsteps thumping across wooden planks overhead, the faint clatter of crockery from a distant kitchen. And two voices talking quietly next to him.

 

 _Waves? Wooden planks?_ A spike of confusion shot through Law before he realised that obviously, he wasn’t on his submarine.

 

_What the fuck has happened?_

 

"- to this chair that looked like a big heart. Didn’t want me to let him out."

 

A gasp.

 

"Oh Law. Did he - did he hurt him?"

 

Silence.

 

"Don’t know what he did to him. We kicked his ass in the end though. Torao was awesome."

 

The voices of the people next to him gradually gained in clarity and became intelligible as Law drifted further towards consciousness. As if seen through smoke and mirrors, memories began to swim to the forefront of Law’s mind. Of Punk Hazard. Of Dressrosa. Of Doflamingo. Jumbled and disconnected, but they were there.

 

_We won. Joker defeated. On his way to Impel Down._

 

But what else? Something. Something important.

 

_That voice._

 

The starry night. The rainbow mist. The boat and Luffy. Luffy and another miracle left in his wake.

 

_Cora-san._

 

A fierce pain cut through Law’s chest and he wanted to sob in relief and joy, but found that his exhausted body was incapable of movement. Cora-san was back! Even though he did not have the strength to force his eyes open, he could finally see himself - lying in the infirmary of the Barto-Club’s ship, with Luffy and Cora-san - _Cora-san! -_ watching over him. 

 

"- can probably explain it better. She’s really smart and everything. But we got you back and then Torao saved you."

 

Realising that he had missed out on some of the conversation that the two men sitting by his bedside were having, Law strained his mind, struggling against the exhaustion that was weighing him down, and tried his best to pay attention to what they were saying.

 

"- and then again when those stupid bounty hunters attacked. But Torao kicked their asses too. He’s awesome."

 

"That _room_ almost killed him," Law heard Cora-san say in a pained whisper.

 

A beat of silence.

 

"He was scared for you. When people fight for the ones they love, they don’t care that it can hurt them," Luffy answered in an uncharacteristically serious voice. Unbidden, the image of the Stawhat captain’s broken and battered body after the battle of Marineford flashed across Law’s mind.

 

"I don’t know if -"

 

"He does," Luffy cut in before Cora-san could voice his doubts. "I know he does - he fought in your name all this time. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t love you."

 

"I just - I never thought… He seemed to hate me for what I did to him. I told him in the end. And I meant it. God, I mean it. But there was never enough time… I-" Cora-san broke off and Law’s heart clenched in his chest at the pain in the other man’s voice. He could see his smile, gap-toothed, framed in vibrant red lipstick, could hear his words _Hey Law, I love you_! could feel the happiness surging through his 13-year-old self before the treasure chest snapped shut and all hope he had of a happy ending, all chances for him to say it _Cora-san I love you too_ were lost.

 

"Trust me," Luffy said in the present with an air of finality and gravity that stood in stark contrast to his normally light-hearted demeanour. In his voice there rang the same seriousness as when he had said that he would bring down Doflamingo, the same unwavering certainty that he was stating facts.

 

Cora-san remained silent and Law could feel the hand that had been stroking his hair pause. A moment later, it moved to his free hand. Heart beating painfully against his ribcage, Law could feel Cora-san caressing his fingers, tracing the lines of the letters tattooed into his skin.

 

"When did he get these?" the older man asked, changing the subject.

 

When he answered, Law could hear the fondness in Luffy’s voice and his heart gave a heavy thump again, though for an entirely different reason. "I dunno. He had them when I met him. Pretty cool, right? He has one on his back too. I think they’re awesome."

 

 _Awesome._ Luffy seemed to use that word a lot in relation to him.

 

Apparently, Cora-san had noticed that too. "You’re very fond of him," he said, though there was an edge to his voice that Law couldn’t place.

 

The Strawhat captain, though, seemed entirely unaware of any deeper meaning behind the older man’s question. "I do!"he answered emphatically and though he could not see it, Law could hear the giant grin in his voice. "I love Torao too - he’s nakama. I’d die for him."

 

At those words, pain more potent than he would have believed possible seared through Law’s chest. Luffy’s unbelievable naiveté, his straightforward, unabashed proclamation, his un-fucking-believable ease in saying those words, the very words that had set Law upon a crusade that had lasted more than half his life, seemed to stab him more effectively than any blade.

 

"Law!" Cora-san’s worried voice cut through the tightness in his breast. It took him a moment before he realised that he must have given his conscious state away in response to Luffy’s words. A gasp. A twitch. He’d been too shocked to notice.

 

"Torao, are you awake?!" One of Luffy’s smaller hands grasped his shoulder firmly and shook him slightly.

 

Law suddenly craved the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness - he wanted to fall back into the dark, avoid this conversation, avoid any suspicion that he’d overheard what Luffy had said. But his treacherous body decided that now out of all times would be a good moment to resume its functionality. Without his consent, his eyes opened slightly, and the outside world swam into focus.

 

The first thing he saw were two faces lined with worry - both Luffy and Cora-san bending over him.

 

He blinked up at them slowly.

 

"Torao!" Luffy cried out happily, his trademark grin splitting his face. Beside him, Law could see Corazon dash the palm of his hand across his cheek, could hear a muttered _Thank god!_ before the man he’d believed lost for so many years smiled down at him too.

 

The sight was almost too much to take and Law was overwhelmed with fondness and grief. Cora-san’s face looked just like it had been etched into his memories for thirteen years. The messy blond hair, the kind blue eyes, the wide smile. Only missing the bright vibrant makeup that he had worn like camouflage while burrowing his way into the Family. As a kid, while being dragged from hospital to hospital all across the North Blue, he had wondered what the man would look like with his face bare, stripped of the blood red framing of his lips and the starburst around his eye. Sometimes, when his childish mind had almost believed the man’s fantasy of finding a cure for him, he had imagined what it would be like to live with him, no masks, no disguises, no unnatural colours marring either of their skins, just an ordinary life. It had certainly been the bright hope that he’d been clinging to during those brief moments in the treasure chest when it had seemed like everything might still turn out alright.

 

And now -

 

Despite his earlier effort at concealing them, tears were sliding down Corazon’s face as he smiled down at Law. Still injured, but _alive_ and _there._ And from what he had overheard, still just as ready to love Law and be there for him. It was Law who had changed, who had become twisted and warped, a pirate and criminal, who had pursued vengeance with the single-minded ferocity of a maniac for well over a decade.

 

Cora-san knew him for who he was, _what_ he was - from what he’d heard when he’d been hovering on the edge of consciousness, Luffy had told him.

 

And still the huge idiot was smiling at him like he had back then, like it would be alright.

 

Law felt utterly unworthy.

 

"I’m so glad you woke up!" Luffy exclaimed happily and Law’s gaze drifted towards his allied captain. "You looked really bad when you collapsed. I’m so happy you’re going to be alright."

 

Another impossibly bright grin. Another endearing idiot who was ready to lay down his life for him. 

 

Another man of whose love he wasn’t worthy.

 

After Flevance, he had killed and maimend his way through the North Blue, unleashing his pain on the world, first by himself, then under the guidance of the Family. Never had he been kind, never gentle to Corazon, not even when the man had been trying his utmost to save his life. Not until the very end when it didn’t matter anymore. Afterwards, he had continued on the same path, only veering slightly away from cruelty. This time seeking vengeance under the guise of righteousness for someone else. To complete Corazon’s mission, he had told himself, to avenge him. Not because he was under any illusion that it was what the man who had died for him would have wanted, but because Law felt it was what he deserved. And when he had happened upon Luffy - he had tried to use him like just another one of his tools. Not until the night of the rainbow mist had he realised that the strawhat wearing idiot had become so much more to him.

 

As waves of self-loathing rolled through Law, he felt unconsciousness encroaching again, trying to pull him under. Even the brief exertion of opening his eyes was adding to the weight of exhaustion that had enclosed his body like cement.

 

But there was one thing -

 

Law’s eyes snapped shut as he concentrated all his effort into opening his mouth instead, convincing his lips to form words. When his voice came, it came as a grating whisper, barely audible, hardly intelligible.

 

"I … I you too."

 

As he drifted off, exhausted by the effort of speaking, sinking with relief into the haze of sleep, the last things he heard were a puzzled gasp and a strangled sob.

 

—

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to hear what you think! :)


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